There are a large number of freeware and open source software porgrams out there that can make your life easier. I use at least a couple in my day-to-day computer interactions. I use a free, open source program called Unikey to type in Vientamese and I have used a program called GIMP for photo processing. There are even free operating systems out there like linux and free office suite programs that work very similar to Microsoft Office. I try to be careful what I download because I know the risks can be high.
During the summer break I bought a new ultrabook because I thought I would be traveling a lot and that I would need a personal computer to bring along with my bulkier office computer. The job changed a bit and the ultrabook isn't as necessary now, but it is still nice to have. Anyway, when I first bought it and fired it up, I wanted to load GIMP see about using it in lieu of Photoshop Elements. I was in a hurry, so I typed GIMP into Google and quickly chose one of the top-tier search results. It didn't take long before I knew I chose the wrong program download site, because my browser was hijacked. With a highjacked browser, no matter what you do, your browser will default to a specific home page. My browser was hijacked by QV06 and no matter how many tricks I tried from online help, it wouldn't go away. Honestly, I didn't try too long because the computer was new and I didn't have much to lose by just reinstalling the operating system and starting anew. The firewalls and virus detection systems out there (I use Microsoft Security Essentials and the Windows default firewall) do very well at protecting your computer from those uninvited threats, but there aren't many out there that can protect you from a file you choose to download and open on your system. Lesson learned... sort of.
Jump ahead to this past weekend. I had a file that was typed with a Vietnamese font that I wanted to view and save as a PDF. There are a couple of Vietnamese font packages (TCVN3 and VNI) that I have downloaded in the past with little problem. I was in a hurry this time, and true to habit, I downloaded the font package from one of the top tier search results from Google. Ironically, I realized after I started the downloaded that the program was taking way too long to download for what it was so I cancelled before it was finished. I cancelled too late. Once again, this QV06 malware was on my system. The problem is, the computer I was using this time was my primary system in the house with all of the programs I like. Knowing it would take a very long time to recover the system to factory settings and then reload all of my software (I actually purchase all of my software except for the open source programs I use), I spent a little more time trying to recover my system from the malware. I downloaded several malware and spyware removal programs and did everything short of editing my registry (a very dangerous proposition) No joy. Truth of the matter is, even if I had un-hijacked my system, I probably would have reloaded the operating system anyway, because I would be paranoid some other computer virus like a trojan, or back-door program was lurking in the background. Ends up, I found an online font coverter website that converted the font to a unicode font that can be read on any system. I didn't even need to download the font package... ARGH!
The weather in Hanoi was beautiful this weekend, so I didn't waste it on reloading my operating system on my computer. That task will be put off for a rainy day. Literally.
I guess what really bothers me is that this QV06 malware is out there so prolifically that on the two times I chose some freeware online, on a top-tier search result, I ended up infected. I don't even know to what benefit this malware can provide to the creator. Let's just say I hate it.
No comments:
Post a Comment